skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Birth Certificate Bill Faces Senate "Kill" Committee

play audio
Play

Wednesday, March 28, 2018   

DENVER - vA new law that would bring Colorado up to date with federal policies for changing a person's gender on their birth certificate won bipartisan support to clear the state House, and proponents are pulling out all stops after the bill was assigned to the Senate's "kill committee."

Daniel Ramos, executive director of the group One Colorado, said eliminating barriers for changing gender is important because when someone's identity doesn't match what's listed on their birth certificate, it can lead to discrimination.

"It's important for transgender people to also have the freedom to live their lives, to be treated with dignity and respect, to be able to access employment, housing and access to businesses and other services, just like everybody else," he said.

Ramos said the current policy is unnecessarily burdensome and a violation of privacy. Under Colorado law, people must undergo surgery and then make their case before a judge in order to win a court order allowing the change. The "Birth Certificate Modernization Act" would only require a letter from a health professional. Opponents of the bill warn that it could encourage fraud or allow people to get out of criminal or credit history.

The U.S. Passport office and Social Security Administration follow the same procedures proposed in HB 1046, Ramos said, arguing that concerns about fraud are unfounded.

"With criminal and credit history, that is tracked by Social Security number, not birth name," Ramos said, "and so, the Social Security number, regardless of the gender, would still stay the same."

Similar measures have died in the past three legislative sessions. The Colorado Senate's State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee is scheduled to hear the bill today.

The bill is online at leg.colorado.gov.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021